What was I thinking?
I rolled across the bed, ignoring the burning in my ribs and gained my feet with the bed between me and the door when I saw the shadowed form in the doorframe.
“Get out!” I screeched as loud as I could, knowing Norm wouldn’t hear me, he wore hearing aids and asked “pardon” a lot, but hoping Gladys would.
The overhead light went on and Max stood in the doorframe. The instant I saw him, I stopped breathing.
What was he doing there?
His face at first was searching but when his eyes took me in, his expression turned instantly ravaged.
“What… the… fuck?” he whispered, his gravelly voice so low, it slithered across the room at me like a snake.
I realized then that I was holding the sodden, now iceless towel in one hand, the bloody one in the other and I could just imagine what my face looked like. Not to mention my sweater for I’d gone to sleep in my clothes, not even taking off my boots.
I ignored these things, stared at Max then asked the first thing that had come to my mind.
“What are you doing here?”
“What the fuck?” Max repeated.
“Max, what are you doing here?”
One second he was across the room, a bed between us, the next he was standing right in front of me, toe-to-toe. His hands were cupping my jaws and his eyes were moving over my face or, more precisely, my nose, cheek and eye.
Then his gaze locked on mine.
“Duchess, what happened to you?” he asked softly.
“Max –”
“Baby, answer me.”
“I don’t –”
His hands tightened, not painfully but I knew he was done verbalizing his commands. He just simply wanted me to obey.
“Damon,” I whispered and watched Max’s eyes close slowly.
Then he opened them and asked, “What happened?”
I shook my head but answered, “I don’t know. I was here for awhile, sitting by the river then I went to Norm and Gladys’s for dinner –”
Max blinked and asked, “Norm and Gladys?”
“My neighbors.”
“Your neighbors?”
“Yes, cabin number three. We had pork chops and apple pie, um… not together, of course, apple pie was dessert. We had mashed potatoes, gravy and green beans with the pork chops and, um… ice cream with the pie.”
Why was I babbling?
Max pressed his lips together and I wasn’t sure but he looked like maybe he was considering laughing or, alternately, yelling before he stopped pressing them together and suggested, “Let’s get to the Damon part.”
“Okay.” I nodded, happy to be back on target and not making a prat of myself. “Anyway, I was walking back to my cabin from dinner and I opened my door, Damon was there, he pushed me through and… well…” I threw out a hand for the rest was obvious.
“When did this happen?”
“I’m not sure but I’m guessing awhile ago.”
“You haven’t been to the doctor.”
This was a statement, not a question but I shrugged my answer before I stupidly said, “No need, if my ribs are broken then they can’t do much of –”
I stopped talking when Max’s eyes narrowed.
“Your ribs?”
I saw my mistake instantly but I had the distinct feeling Max wasn’t going to let it go and I had this feeling because his eyes were narrowed but also since he pretty much never let anything go.
Therefore, cautiously I explained, “He kind of…” I paused. “Um… when I was on the floor he kind of…” I hesitated then whispered, “Kicked me.”
Max just stood there, stock-still, his hands still at my jaws, his eyes looking in mine but his were dark, unfocused and they were angry, angrier than I’d ever seen them and that morning I thought he couldn’t get angrier but there it was.
Which brought my mind to that morning.
“Max,” I ventured when he seemed to be unable to move, “what are you doing here?”
He blinked again, his eyes focused on me and he answered, “Bringin’ you home.”
This time I blinked then I started, “But –”
“Now, I’m takin’ you to the hospital.”
“Max –”
I didn’t finish because Max was pulling the towels out of my hands, tossing them on the dresser behind me and speaking. “I’ll call Mick on the way, get him to round up Damon.”
“I think –”
I didn’t finish that time because Max’s hand wrapped around mine and he was dragging me across the room as he said, “After the hospital, we’ll go home.”
“I can’t go home,” I told his back as he kept walking us across the room and he stopped and turned to me.
“What?”